FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT HAMPTON RIVER - PAGE 5

HAMPTON — The ornate bricks that were part of a strategy to rescue an eyesore property from dereliction are still at River Street Park but weeds are again growing high at the city park. The park that cost more than $1 million to create is being criticized by a group of kayakers who say it fails to meet its original intention of being a place where they could launch their vessels because it's too impractical. River Street Park opened in late 2008 and was funded with $600,000 from the city of Hampton and a grant of $472,541 from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

A man lost his life and a woman lost her leg in a weekend boating accident on the Hampton River. The deadly crash involved two 17-foot pleasure boats that collided just after 4 p.m. Saturday under the Settler's Landing Road bridge, the U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday. Rick Renna, of Mallory Street in Hampton, died from severe head injuries, said Lt. Peg Blomme of the Coast Guard station in Portsmouth. Lisa Bylund, of Benthall Road in Hampton, had one of her legs cut off in the crash and was taken by helicopter to Norfolk, where she was reported to be in stable condition Sunday at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

Where the blood from Blackbeard's head once sullied the soil on the grassy knoll at the mouth of the Hampton River, children now peacefully play basketball. Speedboats and motorized ski vehicles race through the water in place of wooden clipper and pirate ships. But some things never change: Neighborhood residents crab and fish for their dinner's catch, and people care about keeping the Hampton a safe, clean and productive river. "It is the heart of the city," says Joe Grace, co-chairman of the 30-member Hampton River Advisory Committee.

The troubles of the day seem distant as soon as Ermany Taylor sits on his deck and stares into his back yard, the Hampton River. "It's almost like a picture book, so serene and peaceful," he says. The waves, marshland, ducks and crabs engross him. The Phillips Lake resident can't swim, and boats make him queasy, so just looking at the water is enough for him, he said. Taylor might be just the kind of resident the Hampton River shores will attract in coming years, Hampton city officials said this week.

HAMPTON — From their home on Lakeland Drive, Mark and Mona Mazonkey can see a wide stretch of the Hampton River, an area that's popular with speed boat owners, Jet Ski riders and other boaters. But they are concerned about a new feature that's appeared in the water — heavy wooden markers that delineate the stretch of the river that's been newly dredged by the city of Hampton. View Hampton River in a larger map While the Mazonkeys welcome the dredging project that they say is already attracting more boaters, they fear the navigational markers are unnecessary and may pose a safety hazard on the river.

Federal money to dredge the Hampton River is on the congressional budget chopping block, just as the city steps up its own efforts to widen and deepen parts of the river. In its budget for the 1997 fiscal year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed eliminating 500 such local projects nationwide. Among them are the Hampton River and Rappahannock River in Virginia and 41 rivers and harbors in North Carolina. The corps routinely manages dredging projects to maintain navigable harbors and waterways.

As the owner of a waterfront home, Gene Cone helped to shape a proposal to dredge the Hampton River. So it was with surprise that he scanned a recent survey asking for his thoughts about the project. "I don't think it is an accurate reflection of the project," said Cone, who was a member of the Hampton River Advisory Committee. Joseph Stickle, chairman of the now-defunct group, and other residents of Elizabeth Lake Estates were left off the survey mailing list entirely. "They said it was an oversight," Stickle said of the city's Planning Department.

As the city of Hampton works through its "to do" list, it will have to be careful in lining up priorities. And the citizens of Hampton will want to keep an eye on whether, when it comes to their money, the council's ideas match their own. Dredging is a perennial issue in Hampton. The combination of Mother Nature's inexorable shifting around and the sediment runoff due in part to poorly controlled development means that dredging is a never-ending job. The question for Hampton isn't whether to dredge, but in what order to tackle the projects and how to pay for them.

The Tuesday discussion will allow residents along the waterway to offer testimony. With a nor'east storm heading her way, Carole Garrison was getting ready for the worst and marshalling troops for a meeting about their problems. "I'm praying that's not going to happen," she said about the prospect of more floods from an overflowing Back River. "I wasn't prepared for it this early." Her neighbors and others along the Back River have been invited to a meeting Tuesday night to begin dealing with floods that have plagued the Pastures and other areas from Grandview to Fox Hill and beyond.

Honoring Dr. King More than 750 cities across the United States have honored Dr, Martin Luther king with a statue, a named street or a plaza . Even though Hampton is half black and the City Council is majority black including a black mayor there is nothing in Hampton that honors Dr. King. Dr. King was instrumrntal in helping change Hampton into the All American city which it is today. The idea to include a memorial to Dr. King amongst a bunch of "distinguished citizens" is an attempt to obscure the honoring of Dr. King.